Hand-loom.



C. M. LEWIS.

HAND LOOM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29. 1915.

1,225,446., Patented May 8, 1917.

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C, M. LEWIS.

HAND LOOM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 29. 1915.

Lwafia Patented May 8,1917.

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CORINNE M. LEWIS, OF NEVTTOIIVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS.

HAND-1100M.

f Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 8, 1917.

Application filed September 29, 1915. Serial No. 53,186.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that l, Corinne M. LEWIS, acitiaen of the United States, and resident of Newtonville, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improve ment in Hand-Looms, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts. A

This invention relates to improvements in hand looms and the object thereof is to produce a simplified structure which will be efficient in operation, easy of manipulation and thus adapted for use in arts and crafts schools, homes for shut-ins, in private Work shops and the like.

iinother object of the invention is to proviee a construction which may be easily assembled and readily dismantled so that the same may be transported from one place to another and set up without requiring the aid of a skilled mechanic.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a combined reed and harness in which the heddles are so mounted that broken heddles n'iay easily be removed and replaced.

Other objects of the invention will more fully appear from the following description, the accompanying drawing, and will be particularly pointed out in the annexed claims.

The drawings illustrate a preferred form of hand loom en'ibodying my invention the support and frame being of ornamental Cliulnctei' and thus particularly adapted for art studi s, private work shops and the like.

in the drawings;

lligure 1 is a front view in perspective of a loom embodying my invention,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same the shafts of the tension rollers being shown in section,

Fig, 3 is a vertical sectional view of the combined reed and harness from which the heddles may readily be removed, and,

Fig. e is a detail plan view of a portion of the heddle frame with three heddles mounted thereon showing specifically the demountable heddle frame.

Hand looms as heretofore constructed have been somewhat complicated in character necessitating the use of a skilled mechanic in their assemblage and requiring great care in operation to prevent disarrangement which would result in defective weaving, furthermore in such machines the heddles and reeds have been assembled in a single frame in which the heddles were permanently secured so that when the heddles became split, worn, or broken it was necessary to have the entire heddle rebuilt by a skilled loom fixer.

In the present invention a minimum number of parts are utilized and these parts are assembled upon a scientific basis in such a manner as to render the greatest efliciency.

The reeds and heddles while assembled in a single main frame are so constructed that the heddles and heddle frame may be removed from the main frame and the heddle frame then dismantled and the heddles readily removed for repair or for substitution.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings the loom proper is supported upon a table 1 having legs 2 and 3 which desirably are connected at the bottom by a cross piece 4 to give rigidity to the frame. vertical strut 5 is also preferably positioned intermediate of the legs 2 and 3 at each end of the frame to serve as a guide for a treadle as well as to give additional strength to the supporting table.

In use the legs of the table are secured to the floor by screws passing through the cross piece 4 or by brackets attached to the legs in any convenient manner.

The loom frame proper comprises vertical end pieces 6 secured to the top of the table 1 in any suitable manner which preferably are connected by a cross piece 7 supported by brackets 89 secured to the end frames at such a distance above the table 1 as to support the lay at a proper height to enable the operative to conveniently throw the shuttle through the shed. The end frames 6 preferably are formed in such a manner as to present an ornamental appear' ance, for example they may be cut away as illustrated in Fig. 2 to form upper and lower brackets 10, 11 extending forwardly in such a manner as to support guide rollers for the warp and cloth, the brackets having such an ornamental contour as may be desired to make the loom harmonize with the furnishings of the room in which the naled in bearings in the lower gear portion of the frame and the warp preferably is led therefrom over guide rollers 16 positioned above and substantially in the vertical plane of the axis of the roller 13 and thence over a guide roller 17 which is journaled in the bracket 10 near the front lower portion of the frame. The warp thence is carried vertically to a guide roller 18 mounted in the bracket 11, the filling being laid in the warp at a point between the guide rollers 17 and 18 as will hereinafter be described. From the guide roller 18 the cloth 19 is led preferably horizontally to a cloth roller 20 which is mounted upon a shaft 21 journaled in the upper rear portion of the frame.

The warp and cloth are preferably maintained under adjustable tension by ratchet mechanism and weights operating upon the shafts 13 and 21. As illustrated herein the shaft 21 has affixed near one end a ratchet 22 which is engaged by a pawl 23 pivotally mounted upon the side 6 of the frame. A cord 2% affixed to the shaft 21 and carried around the same two or three turns and provided with a weight 2 1* at its lower end serves to retain the ratchet in engagement with the pawl during the weaving opera tion and permits the cloth to be taken up as the web is woven. Likewise a ratchet 25 aflixedupon the shaft 13 at the same end of the loom as the ratchet 22 is engaged by a pawl 26. The pawl and ratchet are maintained in engagement by a cord 27 having a weight 28 upon its lower end, the upper end being affixed to the shaft 13 after two or three turns about the shaft as illustrated herein. r

The shafts 13 and 21 respectively are provided with knobs 29 and 30 by means o which the tension upon the warp at one end and upon the cloth at the other may be regulated in accordance with thecharacter of goods being woven, for it will be obvious that since the warp running from the warp beam 12 merges into the cloth which is wound upon the tension roll 20 an increase in tension upon either the warp beam or upon the tension roll will. increase the tension upon the warp threads at the weaving" point and the release of the tension upon the one or the other, which may be effected at will, will cause a reduction of tension upon the warp threads at the weaving point. In the operation of the loom the weaving is done in a zone intermediate of the guide rollers 17 and 18 and the warp remains stationary while a convenient amount of filling is inserted af er which the pawl 26 is removed from its'engagement with the ratchet 25 to release the tension upon the warp and thereupon the cloth is wound upon the tension or cloth roller 20 by rotation of the knob 30 until the body of the woven web is at a desired point for resuming the weaving operation whereupon the pawl 26 is again thrown into engagement with the ratchet 25 and the knob 29 rotated until the proper tension is placed upon the warp.

The filling is inserted in this hand loom in the usual manner by means of a suitable shuttle, not shown, which is thrown by the weaver through a shed made in the warp, the filling being then beaten up by a foot operated lay.

In the present construction the lay carries the usual reed and also the harness, which conveniently is in the form of a series of heddles carried by a frame and is attached to the lay eneath the reeds and the improved constructions of the lay the heddle frame and heddles form important features of the present invention.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein the lay 31 is in the form of a substantially rectangular hollow frame, the upper portion of the end walls having a centrally reduced portion 32 to permit the ready manipulation of the shuttle.

The frame 31 is recessed to receive a keeper 33 which is rabbetted upon its under side so that with the frame 31 it forms a holder for the reed frame 3% and the heddle frame 35. The reed frame is provided with the usual series of reeds 36 between which the *arp threads run. The heddle frame which lies directly beneath the reed frame in the old form of construction was in the form of a solid frame having a series of heddles, usually of fiber permanently secured at their ends to the sides of the heddle frame. In the improved construction the heddle frame comprises a pair of end pieces 37 which are apertured near their ends to receive the preferably shouldered ends of heddle bars 38. The heddle bars 38 preferably are locked to the heddle frames 37 by hooks 39 pivotally mounted in the frame 37 and adapted to engage apertures 4o near the ends of the heddle bars.

The heddles 'may be of any usual charactor but preferably are metallic heddles d1 having loops 4-2 at their ends to embrace the heddle bars38 and at their central portions loops or eyes 42* for the warp threads to pass through. V i

In drawing in the warp at the commencement of the weaving operation alternate warp threads 15 are placed through the eyes 42* of the heddles the intermediate series of warp threads 15* lying between adjacentheddles.

In making the shed the lay is pressed by the operator either forward or back of a central neutral position thus producing a shed first upon one side and then upon the other side of the warp threads which pass between the adjacent heddles as is common in looms of this kind.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated herein the ends of the lay are provided with supporting hangers. Each hanger comprises a horizontal portion as which is secured to the under sur face of the end of the lay, and a vertical portion 4% which extends a considerable distance above the plane of the top of the lay where it merges into a curved portion which extends forwardly and has an upwardly bent end 46 so disposed that the center of gravity of the lay and its hangers will be in the longitudinal central plane of the lay. The ends 46 of the hangers preferably are attached to the ends of the sprocket chains 47 which pass over sprocket wheels as carried by a shaft 19 which is journaled in brackets 50 upon the top of the end portion 11 of the frame 6. The opposite ends of the chains 47 are attached to cords 51 which support a treadle 52 which as before stated is guided in the ways between the leg 2 of the table and the adjacent vertical support 5.

The weight of the treadle with its supporting ropes and chain is somewhat less than the weight of the lay so that the latter is drawn down by gravity until its ends rest upon the brackets 89.

In preparing the loom for operation the shaft 13 is withdrawn from its bearings and the warp beam placed upon the table 1. The beam is then raised a sufiicient distance above the table to permit the shaft 13 to be inserted through it and through the hearing at the opposite ends of the loom, the shaft then being fixed against withdraw'al in any suitable manner.

It is of course understood that the shaft 13 is pinned, keyed or otherwise secured to the warp beam so that the same will rotate in unison. The warp ends are then passed over the guide rollers 16, 17 and alternate warps through the heddles in the manner above described, the intervening warps be ing passed through the spaces between adjacent heddles all warp threads then being carried over the guiding roll 18 and fixed to the tension or cloth roll 20.

The desired tension is then placed upon the warp by rotating th knobs 29 or 30, or both, as may be desired. The loom is then ready for weaving.

In the operation of the loom the Weaver first forces back the lay toward the rear of the loom thereby causing the heddles to carry alternate threads backward from the vertical or normal position and forming a shed. The shuttle is then thrown across the shed. Thereupon the treadle is depressed raising the lay to its maximum height. The lay is then permitted to descend by gravity until it rests upon the brackets 8 9 thereupon the operator draws the lay forward forming a shed in front of the intermediate warps and throws the shuttle through the shed thus formed. The

treadle is then again depressed carrying the releasing the warp beam. The cloth is then wound up on the cloth roll 20 until the fell of the cloth is raised to the desired height for resuming the weaving operation whereupon the pawl 26 is again placed in engagement with the ratchet 25 and the tension upon the warp again adjusted by manipulation of the knobs 29*30. Weaving then may be resumed.

One of the important features of the invention consists in providing means for manipulating the lay manually as by a foot treadle so that the desired density or tightness of weave may be at all times under the control of the operator and also to insur uniformity in the weave.

In the construction disclosed in the patent to Copeland No. 614,793, patented Nov. 22, 1898 upon which the present invention is an improvement the lay is depressed by treadle mechanism and is released to beat up the filling, the lay being forced against the filling by weights attached to straps which pass over a reel at the top of the machine and are connected at their opposite ends to the lay. In such construction the treadle brings the lay back to substantially the same position each time and the momentum acquired by the lay upon the release of the treadle decreases as the length of the web of fabric increases so that there is a lack of uniformity in the weave. By the present invention the manual actuation of the treadle permits absolute uniformity if desired and upon the other hand permits the beating up of certain of the weft threads to form ribs or stripes in the fabric.

When the entire amount of warp is exhausted the warp ends may be freed from the Warp beam, the fell bound and the cloth then unrolled from the cloth roller, by merely releasing the engagement of the pawl 23 with its ratchet 22.

In art work it is frequently desirable to weave relatively short webs of cloth. In such cases the desired amount of cloth is woven and thereupon the warp threads clamped above the lay. They may then be cut above the clamp and the cloth removed from the roll by releasing the engagement of the pawl 23 with the ratchet 22 as aforesaid. The warp ends may then be drawn up and attached to the cloth roll in the usual manner and another piece of work woven.

It will be observed that the mechanisms of this loom are of an exceedingly simple character and are so balanced as to avoid the use of springs or other breakable devices. The loom is exceedingly simple in operation and' is particularly adapted for the use of artists or of amateurs since it can be worked with little skill or may be so manipulated by skilled operatives as to produce cloth of the finest Weave.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;

1. In a hand loom comprising a frame, a warp roll and a cloth roll journaled therein, guiding rolls for said warp spaced apart and lying in the same substantially vertical plane, a vertically reciprocable and laterally movable lay carrying a reed and harness, a support for the lay located at a dis tance below the fell of the cloth formed upon said warp, flexible members having at one end hangers secured to the ends of said lay, said hangers being so constructed that the center of gravity of the lay and hangers will lie in the longitudinal vertical central plane of the lay, rotary guides for said flexible members mounted upon the frame above the'upper guide roll and a light treadle member connected to the opposite end of said flexible members whereby the weight of the lay will cause it normally to descend and rest upon said support and the depression of said treadle will raise the lay to beat up the filling.

2. In a hand loom comprising a frame, a warp beam and a cloth roll mounted therein, means for guiding the warp from said warp beam to said cloth roll and means for beating up the filling; pawl and ratchet mechanism for said warp beam and cloth rolls adapted to permit adjustment of the tension upon the warp and means for maintaining the teeth of the ratchet in firm engagement with the pawl thereby preventing alteration of the tension after the same has been set.

3. In a hand loom comprising a frame, a warp beam and a cloth roll mounted therein,

means for guiding the warp from said warp beam to said cloth roll and means for heating up the filling; pawl and ratchet mechanism for said warp beam and cloth rolls adapted to permit adjustment of the tension upon the Warp and means for preventing alteration of the tension after the same has been set consisting of counterweighted fleX- ible members fixed to and coiled about the shafts of said warp beam and said cloth roll in a direction to maintain the ratchets and pawls in constant engagement notwithstanding the shocks and rebound caused by the beating up of the filling.

46. A lay for a hand loom comprising a reed and a demountable harness frame carrying a series of movable heddles.

5. A lay for a hand loom comprising a hollow frame containing a reed and a demountable rectangular metallic heddle frame consisting of parallel heddle bars and end pieces detachably secured together and a series of heddles mounted upon said heddle bars whereby broken heddles may readily be removed and others substituted therefor Without dismantling the lay.

6. A lay for a hand loom comprising a hollow frame containing a reed and a demountable rectangular metallic frame independent of said reed and consisting of heddle bars and end pieces detachably secured together, and a series of metallic heddles having looped ends slidably mounted upon said heddle bars whereby broken heddles may be readily removed and others substituted therefor without dismantling the lay.

7. In a hand loom a warp beam, a cloth roll and means for guiding the warp intermediate of the warp beam and the cloth roll in a substantially vertical plane, a vertically reciprocable and laterally movable lay comprising a reed and harness, hangers having the horizontal members secured to the under side of the lay and arch shaped members rising therefrom, sprocket chains connected at one end to the arch shaped members and passing over suitably positioned sprocket wheels and a treadle having its ends connected to the sprocket chains.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

OORINNE M. LEWVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

